One of our favorite hor d’oeuvres to serve here at the farm is Cheese Gougères. These have a light, crispy shell and a soft, eggy, cheesy middle. Imagine a savory choux bun!
Here are a few of our favorite kitchen tools for this recipe:
Follow along with Chef Kieron’s video tutorial:
Ingredients
- ½ cup (115g) water
- 1 teaspoon (6g) Worcestershire sauce
- 4 tablespoons (60g) salted butter
- ¼ teaspoon (0.5g) mustard powder
- ¼ teaspoon (0.5g) turmeric powder
- ½ cup (74g) all purpose flour
- 2 whole eggs (104g)
- ¾ cup (94g) parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped oregano (or herb of choice)
Instructions
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Combine water, Worcestershire sauce and butter in a pot and bring to a simmer.
- Add mustard powder and turmeric powder and return to simmer.
- Add flour all at once and mix vigorously until you can no longer see any flour molecules and it begins to pull away from the edges of the pan.
- Remove from heat and transfer to a mixing bowl.
- Add one egg at a time, gently cutting the egg into the dough and mixing at the same time. First egg should be fully incorporated before adding the second.
- Add cheese and fold into the dough.
- Add herbs and fold into the dough.
- Scoop approximately 1 teaspoon (25g) balls of dough onto a sheet pan lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Space them at least one inch apart.
- Bake for 5 minutes, then rotate the pan and reduce the heat to 350F.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
- Transfer the sheet pan to a cooling rack. The finished gougères will be puffed, deep golden-brown, and dry to the touch (the cheese may still be bubbling a bit). They will also feel light and hollow when picked up.
- Serve and enjoy! These can be served warm or room temperature. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator and re-crisped in a warm oven before serving or frozen for up to three months.
Chef's Tip
To have gougères on hand for later, try freezing them shaped but unbaked. Scoop and then freeze them directly on the baking sheet. Once frozen, you can transfer them to a freezer storage container. Bake them directly from the freezer while still frozen, and let them bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
Want to try another recipe? Try something sweet with these Eccles Cakes or go savory with our Burgundy Beef Pie!